03 October 2014

Quinoa Boondi (colorful & sugarfree)



healthy_indian_sweet


Wow,today is Vijaydasami,the last day of Navratri also called Dussehra .Though I do pujas and prayers of Maa Durga (Hindu Goddess) at home,though I go to temple on this occasion as well,honestly speaking,I hardly felt like it was Navratri and it is Dussehra today .Well,I guess,that's what is called "Being-abroad-syndrome" !! and let me tell ya,it's not fun,something is always missing here.I am so jealous of all of you who are living in India and enjoyed the festival in and out.Cute Kitten Sorry

Every year it reminds me of my childhood days when my mom would be busy preparing festival delicacy (& me eating like there is no tomorrow) and by evening dad would take us all across the town every 10 days to show us different pandals( temporary platforms where goddess is being placed and worshiped) and different one-of-a-kind beautiful Devi idols worshiped that day .

I was (&am) so crazy about all those fairs and processions of that day .Those ten days I would dump all my books for good :D and moreover, one of the day is dedicated to worship Goddess Saraswati ,the goddess of Knowledge,wisdom and art and on that day, after performing all rituals,the students are suppose to put their books,pens etc  in front of the goddess for her blessings and no one is suppose to study that day .Not to mention my favorite day of the Navaratri festival :D .

boondi_quinoa

Now being far far away from my motherland and my home ,with hardly any relatives here in US and friends with benefits mostly :p ,I am dead homesick.Ab kya karein paapi pett ka sawaal jo hai ;kuch paanein/kamanien keliye kuch khona bhi padtha hain :P.

However,I believe what makes me to remind ,reemphasize and celebrate this festival are "Sweets" / Festival delicacies. One such sweet I made is "Quinoa Boondi "which is infact kinda healthy version of the traditional boondi.

Boond in Hindi means Drop and this sweets look just like sweet droplets,made with thick and runny Besan/chickpea/Gram flour batter and deep fried in oil and later on dunked in sugar syrup. This sweet are usually offered as Prasad/offerings to Hindu Gods and Goddess during festivals .I added the extra goodness of quinoa and covered it in sugar free .This is exclusively for diabetic patients.


This is how I make healthy sugar free Boondi:

Sugar Free Quinoa colorful Boondi

Ingredients

Quinoa flour - 1 cup
Gram flour/Besan -1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 teaspoon
Baking soda - 1/4 teaspoon
Water - 1/2 cup
Ghee or oil for deep frying

Beetroot juice - 1-2 teaspoons
Hemp/Spirulina juice - 1-2 teaspoons
Saffron strands (4-5) in warm water


Stevia/Sugarfree - 1-2 tablespoon


Method:


  • Take a bowl and combine quinoa flour,besan,cardamom powder ,baking powder and water.Mix well until it is lump free.Keep it aside for about 10 minutes (approx).(The consistency should be thick yet runny)
  • Take three bowls and divide the batter into each of them respectively.
  • Add beetroot juice in one bowl of batter , hemp powder/spirulina powder in other bowl and saffron in the third bowl of batter.Mix well the colors to each bowl.Keep pink,green and yellow colored batter aside .
  • Heat the ghee/oil in a pan and put it on high flame for a minute.Drop a batter and if it fluffs up and surfaces on the top of oil/ghee ,it's ready to deep fry.At this point reduce the flame to medium-low.
  • Take the perforated ladle/spoon,hold it about 3-4 inch above the pan ,pour about 4 tablespoons of batter at once and and slightly move the ladle up and down in such a way that the batter easily flows out of the hole of the perforated spoon and falls freely as droplets into the ghee.
  • Deep fry them on medium flame.Repeat the steps for rest of the batter.
  • Remove them using the slotted spoon.
  • Once all boondis are ready,sprinkle the stevia or any sugar free on the top and mix well so that all boondis are covered with sugar free well.
  • Serve immediately.
Note:
  • I used Baking powder as this flour needs it to get it fluffy later unlike the Chickpea flour/Besan.
  • Grate little beetroot and juice it in blender , sieve it and use it.There is no aftertaste of any of this or hemp/spirulina.Make sure when you add the juice to the batter it shouldn't turn it too runny otherwise it won't come out good .In case, if it happens,add more quinoa flour and adjust accordingly.
  • You can also use simply a spoon and dip it in the batter and put the batter as drop by drop and fry it too.It is time consuming though and may not yield evenly shaped boondis.
  • You can also make sugar syrup and use it instead of sugar free.That will be certainly more tastier comparatively.
  • Serve this boondi immediately otherwise it'll get dry and won't taste that good later.
Enjoy the victory of truth over evil !

Happy Dussehra to one and all .

Jai Mata Di,